ATP World Tour Finals: Can London keep men's tennis showpiece?

By Ravi Ubha, for CNN

Updated 0034 GMT (0834 HKT) November 4, 2013

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The magnificent eight of men's tennis – Since moving to London in 2009 more than one million people have attended the World Tour Finals, making it the world's biggest indoor tennis tournament. Former world No. 1 Roger Federer has won a record six World Tour Finals titles.

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The magnificent eight of men's tennis8 photos

The magnificent eight of men's tennis – Spain's Rafael Nadal may be top of the world rankings, but he has never won a World Tour Finals title.

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The magnificent eight of men's tennis – Serbia's Novak Djokovic is a two-time champion at the season-ending event, winning it in both 2008 and 2012.

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The magnificent eight of men's tennis – The closest world No. 3 David Ferrer has come to winning the competition is a defeat to Federer in the 2007 final.

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The magnificent eight of men's tennis – Stanislas Wawrinka is making his World Tour Finals debut. His qualification marks the first time that two Swiss players will be competing at the season finale.

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The magnificent eight of men's tennis – Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro was beaten in the first London final in 2009 by Russia's Nikolay Davydenko.

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The magnificent eight of men's tennis – The tournament pits the top eight players in the world against each, but world No. 9 Richard Gasquet is heading to London due to the withdrawal of Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.

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The magnificent eight of men's tennis – Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych enjoyed his best World Tour Finals in 2011, when he reached the semifinals.

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Story highlights

London will host the season-ending championship of men's tennis until 2015

It first held the ATP World Tour Finals in 2009 and its contract was extended

The tournament has become an important financial boon for the ATP

It was previously held in Shanghai, with Rio and New York also interested

It's become an increasingly precious jewel in the ATP's financial crown, attracting big crowds and treating the leading players like rock stars since its move to London four years ago.

This week's World Tour Finals not only showcases the top 16 singles and doubles competitors, it also highlights the benefits the men's tennis showpiece can bring to a city.

The question now is, can the UK capital continue its love affair with the tournament -- or will it continue its nomadic past?

Before London was granted an extension to stage it until 2015, New York and Rio de Janeiro were other cities rumored to be in the running.

The Big Apple, like London, is one of the globe's major metropolises and home to one of tennis' four grand slams. It hosted the ATP tournament in the late '70s and '80s in the heyday of Madison Square Garden.

O2 prepares for World Tour Finals

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Simply the best – Novak Djokovic lifts the trophy at the 2012 ATP World Tour Finals after beating Roger Federer in a pulsating final.

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Global appeal helps tennis beat economic downturrn8 photos

Home appeal – Local hero: Andy Murray walks out before an expectant crowd at the O2 Arena in London.

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Global appeal helps tennis beat economic downturrn8 photos

Superior setting – The setting and staging of the ATP World Tour Finals in London has won widespread praise from players and spectators.

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Global appeal helps tennis beat economic downturrn8 photos

Star appeal – A face in the crowd: Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey joined the capacity audiences in London.

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Global appeal helps tennis beat economic downturrn8 photos

Capitalism crisis – The global recession has seen protests across the western world with the Occupy movement taking root outside St Paul's Cathedral in London.

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Global superstars – Tennis royalty contested the final of the WTA Championships in Istanbul with Serena Williams beating Maria Sharapova in the final.

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Fan fervour – Tennis has a global appeal and these fans in Turkey had their own favorite in Russian star Maria Sharapova.

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Intense rivalry – The 2012 tennis season began in earnest in January at the Australian Open. In the final, world No.1 Novak Djokovic and Spain's Rafael Nadal fought a titanic battle before the Serbian emerged on top after five marathon sets.

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Brazil, meanwhile, is an emerging market that in the next three years will host soccer's World Cup, the Summer Olympics and a medium-sized tennis event in Rio.

However, moving the event elsewhere would be a "gamble," according to the former head of the ATP's commercial division, while Roger Federer -- whose record six finals wins are spread across London, Houston and Shanghai -- would have no issue with a further continuation.

Unlike soccer's ruling body FIFA, which aims to take the World Cup to pastures new, the ATP's goal isn't to be "evangelistic" about tennis -- and London, with its packed crowds, has been a boon financially for the men's game.

"My personality isn't much for a change," Silva, a Brazilian, told CNN. "This is a different animal to the World Cup in that it's year to year, and you do want to expose fans around the world to this type of tennis.

"But the tournament is a very important part of the business of the ATP. More important than exposing everyone around the world to it is making sure it's healthy and not an experiment.

"You come, the tent is there but it's temporary and you move it away again. So here the roots are down, it's successful and that's why if the business makes sense, if the numbers make sense, if the excitement of everybody involved makes sense, I think we should keep it here.

"Other options would have to be considered but it would have to be a great other option."

Richard Davies, the CEO of ATP Properties before leaving his post at the end of 2010, said London was "twice as successful" in monetary value for the ruling body than other host cities.

Unlike when the season finale was showcased in Shanghai as the Masters Cup, the World Tour Finals are operated as a joint venture between the ATP and London's O2 venue owner AEG. All operating costs and revenues feed into the joint venture.

The Shanghai promoters paid the ATP for the right to run the tournament, and the purchasing fee -- believed to work out to about $10 million per year -- was all the latter received from the event.

"If there's no tennis fatigue at the O2 and it's still selling out, I think you have to ask yourself, 'What's the upside to move it elsewhere?' " said Davies. "At the ATP Tour, it's not their responsibility to be evangelistic about tennis.

"London is a great city and that helps corporately. You'd have to take a long, hard look to say, 'We're going to move it.' It's very profitable and to get a tennis-loving nation behind it in any other country at that time of the year will be a gamble."

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The success of the tournament has had a knock-on effect on sponsorship, according to both Davies and Silva.

Some companies get involved with the World Tour Finals and then decide to increase their affiliation with the tour throughout the year.

More than one million fans have walked through the turnstiles in the four editions, helped by a capacity of 17,800 that makes the O2 arena the second-largest regularly used tennis venue behind New York's Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Operating two sessions -- day and evening -- pads the coffers. Tickets to watch a single round-robin match range from £10-62 ($16-98), while seats for the final are £30-105 ($48-167).

"People want to be part of the event," said Silva. "They see how successful it is. They see the tour operates in a very successful way throughout the year and end up becoming global partners."

Come the conclusion of 2015, London's term will hit seven consecutive seasons, a run only bettered by New York, which had an unbroken spell from 1977-1989.

With tennis a younger sport in China, crowds for opening matches disappointed, the time zone presented problems for broadcasters and viewers in Europe -- tennis' biggest market -- while players faced the long trip to Asia following the European indoor swing.

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London lacks those issues, though players have complained about Britain's tax laws -- which restrict the number of days they can be in the country before being rated on their overall income.

The O2 is "one of the best venues ever" according to veteran doubles specialist Leander Paes, this week teaming up with Radek Stepanek.

"Playing in there, the acoustics are phenomenal," Paes, who turned pro in 1991, told CNN. "The crispness of it makes the quality of tennis so high."

Pondering the achievement of the event in London, Davies spared a thought for former ATP head Etienne de Villiers.

De Villiers was criticized for implementing a round-robin format at smaller tournaments, and the ATP was taken to court during his 2005-08 tenure for attempting to strip a German event of Masters status.

But De Villiers spearheaded the shift to London from Shanghai in 2009.

"People have short memories," said Davies. "It was a very bold move. The O2 wasn't an established venue and it had a slight miasma about it.

"To back ourselves and say we know we can build an event here, find sponsors and fill it with an audience really that has just had Wimbledon, outdoors ... we're going to take that tennis-loving public and tell them to watch tennis indoors -- it was a big decision."